This year in July,I made the mistake of offering a guest a ride to Mont de Marsan, during the fete “La Madeleine”.  If you think that you missed out on Woodstock you should put Mont de Marsan on your calendar for next year!  Anything and everything goes, together with all three types of bull fights, horse racing events, all night tapas bars and discos, street partying and parades and musical events 24 hrs a day x 5 days! The whole town just closes down and then takes another 3 days off to clean up! 

Another event worth seeing in July, if you have the stamina and time  is Mirande’s huge four day country and western festival, featuring a host of international entertainers and musicians.  In addition to the music there is a hot air ballooning event, antique car show and it attracts enough Harley Davidson afficionados to make you think that all the Harley’s ever sold must now be in France!

In August, Panjas, a small local village bursts on the scene with its four day event. This year my partner and I attended the event with our guests Liz and Paul from Ireland and their four young daughters. The evening, as usual began with an aperitif. In this case it was called “Panjy Juice”, a concoction of sparkling wine and armagnac and a touch of peach juice.  Can be very powerful indeed when drunk in quantity!

Dinner at these village events are typically served buffet style with open seating at long refectory tables.  Being a fair mix of French and non French speaking patrons usually sets the introductions off with clipped and light conversation.  However, it doesn’t take too long before a Frenchman has passed around a bottle of Armagnac and very soon thereafter everyone is on first name basis, often exchanging addresses and numbers in anticipation of meeting up at the next fete!

During the Panjas dinner we were treated to the sounds of a locally named band called “Decabel” who played an assortment of French and other popular tunes which brought me on the dance floor with the four young Irish girls dancing away to the tunes of Riverdance at 1.00 am in the morning.

Following the Panjas fete, we took a Saturday off to attend one of the many locally held “Vide Greniers”  (antique/ bric-a-brac market) in Eauze. This year our pockets weren’t depleted, since only a herb crusher was purchased, even though I did my best to acquire a selection of antique wine pitchers.These markets can be great fun and bargains can be had by all, with a huge assortment of varying quality collectibles ranging from Chateaux style furnishing to modest farming and cottage industry items. English pottery can even be found alongside numerous old American car license plates and old garage lubricant signs. Eauze also hosts one of the largees Thursday markets in the region, attracting hoards of people all summer and offering an amazing array of local produce from as far away as the Agen in the north east and the Pyrenees in the south.

By August it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the number of local fetes and events and make a decision on which one each week we should choose to attend. With so many guests and visitors over the summer, it is actually hard work keeping up with everyone. It isn’t just the fetes, but we also have all of the regional market days too!  Of course you don’t just shop for regional produce at the market either. You sample it too!  And yes, even Armagnac and wine at 9.00am. By the time it is noon you have usually sampled enough skip lunch and go straight into siesta mode.

Two other  markets of particular note are Barbotan Les Thermes which takes place on Wednesdays from March through November, famous for it restaurants serving fresh Arcachon oysters and sparking white wine for breakfast and brunch!  Followed by a trip to the health spa - perhaps much needed on some days!

Still in August and it is time for our own local village of Estang to gear up for its one week of celebrations. Estang, with a resident population of approximately 700 will entertain and serve close to 8,000 visitors throughout the event. On the first Saturday is a Mardi Gras style float and parade which is a sight to behold, with good viewing access necessitating a very early arrival. 

One of the notable dinners of the week is the servind of a (literally translated) meal called “Carcasse de Canard”. It is a meat stripped, BBQd, almost charcoaled, duck carcass!   Surprisingly the dinner is usually a complete sell out, being served to more than 1200 diners sitting at tables in the middle of the bull ring. After a number of aperitifs and a rather long wait before dinner was eventually served around 10pm, my partner quipped at the sight of his plate that “this would be an embarrassment if served to anyone outside of France!”

However, it didn’t take too long before he was chomping away on a plate of more than a dozen piled high duck carcasses! So much for Carcasse de Canard!  What other than to finish off the meal than coffee and the traditional bottle of armagnac, all to the sounds of yet again, “Brass Attack”. PS. Old clothes highly recommended for this dinner with a purse full of wet wipes!

Sadly, given our number of attended festivals and fetes, I am sorry to say that we had to miss two other great August events, namely the “Running of the Bulls” in Nogaro (a mini version of the Pamplona event!) and the world renowned Jazz festival in Marciac. 

Well, if I haven’t given you enough food and wine for further thought, I leave you with some other optional activities to burn off all the extra calories consumed: cycling between the vineyards, aerial pursuits with gliders and single engine planes, walking, fishing, golf, windsurfing and for those of us suffering the after effects of the night before, just basking in the sun by the pool with what else, a chilled bottle of sparking Gascon white wine accompanied by foie gras!!

For more info on the region’s activities, fetes and festivals, accommodation, etc., 
email: rosemary.jaworsky@wanadoo.fr
Rosemary lives locally on a Gascon estate with 4 vacation rental cottages.